Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Forty-Four

 Chapter Forty-Four

Alice's parents arrived right on time, and she stood by the front door as she watched the two of them scramble out of the taxi and up the driveway to meet her. Tears poured down her mother's face as she was the first to reach Alice by the door. After a lot of crying, hugs, and kisses, they finally settled down in Tess' living-room and Alice was quickly barraged with too many questions all at once. She answered each one she could, to the best of her ability, without going into the horrific details of her imprisonment. Tess brought in a tray with tea and cookies, joining Alice by the sofa as her parents continued their quest for the truth.

“So you were just ripped off the street? By a man? What did he do to you?” Sarah asked.

“He, um drove me to a place, where I was kept.”

“Did he hurt you, Dear?” Alice's father butted in, sounding more and more angry as the questions continued.

“Um yeah. But it wasn't that bad. I'm okay now, right?”

“But the police are looking, right?”

“Yes Daddy. The best officer I know.”

“How did you escape?” Alice's mom took over the conversation again.

“I didn't. It was a normal day, as far as I know, and they pulled me out. I only remember being beaten until I guess I passed out. And the next thing I know, I woke up at St. Micheal's.”

“You poor Dear. I'm so sorry.” Again Sarah began to cry. Alice's nerves were at their breaking point. Tess helped field as many questions as she could while Alice excused herself to the bathroom.

Her hands were shaking and her palms were sweaty as her nerves began to unfurl in the pit of her stomach. It was a lot to take in all at once, and keeping some of the truth secret was a chore and a half. Alice washed her face with cold water and spent only a few minutes alone in the bathroom before exiting again, prepared for round two.

“So Alice, Tess here tells me you have a boyfriend.” Sarah said as Alice returned to her spot between them all. Alice looked at Tess for a silent answer and was only met with a coy smile.

“I um, yeah. His name is Wallace, and I'm sure he'll be happy to meet you all someday.”

“What does he do?” Dave father asked.

“He's a psychologist at St. Micheal's.” Alice decided to not tell them that he was her psychologist too.

“Ooh, a doctor. Will we be able to meet him this week?”

“You guys are staying?”

“Yes, we talked it over and Dave and I agree we should stay for a little while. Get to know you better and help you in any way we can.” Sarah said as she reached over and patted Alice's hand. "We'll maybe stay for a week or so, then I think we will all need to get back home for work.”

“That would be great, my first Christmas with my mom and dad for eleven years.” Alice couldn't help but smile at the thought, and the decision was made. Her parents would stay in town until after Christmas. After a long goodbye, Alice's family got into another taxi and headed for a hotel. Tess said she wanted to invite them to stay at her home, but there was just no more space to be had in the house.

Wallace dropped by a few hours later, just in time for dinner. Handing Alice another bouquet of flowers, he came in and took off his coat. “Hey Doll, where is the family?”

“You heard about that?”

“Yeah, the whole hospital knows about it. Heard they came in a few hours ago, sorry I missed them.”